VA or Military Home Loans

The LA Times recently featured a story on VA Loan Benefits. For military members coming home and looking to purchase a home there are some tremendous benefits. Without putting up any of their own money veterans can borrow up to 417k with a GI loan. The limits increase in other areas such as California and Colorado where home prices are higher than the rest of the nation. There are some pretty specific items you need in order to qualify

You Are Eligible For A VA Home Loan If:

• You have had 90 days or more of active duty service during wartime
• You have had 181 days or more of active duty service during peacetime
• You were discharged for circumstances that were not dishonorable
• You are currently active duty personnel and you meet the above service requirements
• You are the surviving spouse of a Veteran who died during service or because of service-related injuries and you have not remarried.

You will also need to show work history and ability to make payments for the loan you are applying for. Lastly, there are three other reasons these loans are good for veterans.

No PMI Insurance is required.

VA Loans require no money down and you will see no penalty rates

VA Loans have lower rates than conventional loans.

Given the current economic environment this is a great option for those who have dutifully served our country.

Student Loans

As soon as I graduated college I wanted to know how to repay student loans quickly. I definitely didn’t want them hanging over my head. Another reason is that after the passage of the 2005 bankruptcy reform bill student loans are no longer fall under bankruptcy protection. In other words, if you go broke you still have to pay back your student loan. You would think that interest rates would be lower since the lender has more protection from bankruptcy.

If you are in the early stages of looking for a student loan before going to college be sure to look into alternate sources of student funding. Not to say that all schools may engage in bad behavior, but in 2007 Andrew Cuomo (Attorney General of New York State) investigated several schools that had preferred lenders. Most of these preferred lenders actually charged higher interest rates and were giving kick backs to financial aid staff.

There are also many different types of loans to consider for college. Even within the category of Federal Student Loans there are numerous types.

• Federal Perkins Loan - Need Based
• Stafford Loan - No payments while the student is in school. Can be unsubsidized which means you can have a loan not based on need?
• Federal Family Education Loans - Private loans backed by the government

Lastly, it definitely is to your advantage to shop around and try to find the best rates for yourself. It could save you a large sum of money.

Loan Fraud - What to Look for

I’ll never forget the first spam I received involving an African prince who would send me oodles of money. Unfortunately, these types of loans continue to proliferate the Internet and take advantage of people. The trend has only gotten worse as people are more desperate in these hard economic times. They prey on people desperate to get student loans and other types of financing. The most common type of fraud is called an advance fee loan scams. In this situation the person is told that they have been guaranteed a unsecured loan for a large sum of money. They simply need to pay the processing fee.

Here are a few of the signs that the company may not be legitimate.

• A lender who isn’t interested in your credit history
• Fees that are not disclosed clearly or prominently
• A loan that is offered by phone
• A lender who is not registered in your state

Do business with licensed companies. Ask your state banking or finance department about the licensing requirements for lenders and loan brokers, and find out if the company has complied.

If you are the victim of a fraudulant crime you can visit https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/. This site helps people who have been victimized by credit card theft. It helps the government to aggregate data and ultimately apprehend those responsible for the fraudulant crimes.

Debt Consolidation - How it Works

Every day I hear ads for debt consolidation. I was always curious how these loans are able to take existing interest debt and turn it into a lower payment. The primary way debt consolidation programs work is by transferring unsecured debt into secured debt. Which brings up the next question, what are the difference between the two? An unsecured debt does not have an underlying asset associated with it. A good example is a credit card. Usually, there isn’t a specific asset that you own tied to the credit card. An example of a secured debt is a home mortgage. If you don’t pay back the mortgage the bank can take possession of the home (secured asset).

Lenders are usually able to offer a lower rates since the debt is now secured with an asset. There is less risk to the lender.

Additionally, programs can do things like extend the term of your loans to increase the payback period and decrease the monthly payment. This makes it easier to meet your monthly payment. Many debt consolidation experts have the ability to work with multiple lenders. This can save a great deal of time and frustration as these agents are experts and can navigate the maze of creditors while minimizing payment.

Compare Rates in Australia

One of my favorite financial sites is bankrate.com. When I was looking for a mortgage I scoured that site on a daily basis watching rates change and thinking about who I would place my mortgage with. Interestingly for me it wasn’t all about the best rate. I also wanted someone who wouldn’t sell my mortgage and who had an office close by. I was able to find it and get a decent rate easily. I am amazed at the difference between the advertised rate and the rate you end up with though.

Even though bankrate is the 800 lb gorilla in the market there are a growing list of sites specializing in financial niches as well.

Anyway, there is a new site that seeks to help Australians with their rates as well. The site is called GoodWithMoney. They compare traditional items like credit cards
and cheap loans, but what I also found interesting is that you can compare rates on items like insurance and broadband services. They have most of the major items that you need for your financial being on their site specifically geared to those living in Australia. They also have a section dedicated to financial Australian news.

If you have any other interesting sites that help to compare rates for a given niche let us know in a comment.

Pay Day Loans - Legislating Rates

The payday loan industry is enormous at over 85 billion dollars. In 2008 the state of Ohio passed legislation limiting the interest rate to 28% for businesses offering payday advance loans. This puts the interest rate at close to the same rate as a credit card. The state supported this bill by 64%. Proponents of the bill noted that payday loans cause the poor to get caught in a vicious cycle of debt that they cannot escape.

The interest rates on these types of loans ranges from 300% -600%. It is also important to understand the amount of risk involved with this type of transaction for the person lending the money. Given the size of the industry it would seem that there is plenty of profit motive to enter the market and that someone would lend at a lower percentage to pick up more business. However, the only thing to factor in must be the size of risk involved. More innovative online pay day lenders such as those that offer no fax payday loan have actually decided to stop lending in Ohio due to the new legislation.

This limits choice for Ohioans and others in States that limit pay day interest rates. Some have suggested that state level assistance programs may be necessary in the absence of this form of credit.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the subject. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Does the new legislation protect those who would otherwise be taken advantage of or is this a necessary service that people depend on that will no longer be an option?

How old are you in credit years?

I came across this fun credit quiz that will tell you your credit age. It takes about 2 minutes to take the quiz. At the end you will get your credit age and a description of your credit self.

Oh, and by the way my credit age was also 47. In this case I am assuming that older is better, but I’m not really sure. I had my cousin take the quiz and she failed miserably. I think that explains a lot. This is the same woman who collects tons of longaberger baskets and complains about not having any money. Hmm, I don’t know what could be the problem.

Anyway, here is the link to the quiz Credit Quiz. Don’t forget to tell everyone how you did.

Ultimatum game - How to trade effectively

In life we are constantly making deals in ways we might not even think of. It doesn’t have to be as big as buying a house, paying off debt or some other major life event. We make deals as simple as splitting a piece of gum with someone. Traditionally, I’ve used the 50/50 split rule. It seems intuitive and fair. Growing up when I used to split a piece of gum my mom used to tell me, “you split, I pick.” This method ensured that we both had a common interest in making sure the split was as fair as possible. However, you may be able to get a little more if you don’t get to greedy.

Enter the science of what economists call the ultimatum game. In this scenario, there are two participants. One participant is given a sum of money. He or she is told that they must make an offer to the second participant. If the 2nd participant accepts the offer they can both keep the money. Remember, the 2nd participant will always be better off by accepting some offer. For example, a single penny is better than nothing. As you can imagine, the 2nd participant declines the offer at some level. What numerous studies have shown is that regardless of income level or size of offer that the 2nd participant usually declines when their share drops below 30%.

This has numerous implications for deal making and sharing of resources. As long as you can position yourself to let the other person think they are getting more than 30% of the benefit in a deal there is a good chance they will accept.

If they have the gum in the future you may want to opt for a more even split

Faxless Payday Loan: Helping Hand or Quick Sand?

When we talk about loans in any forms, they are always related to debts.

Taking loans can offer you two things: good debts and bad debts - good debts put money in your pocket, bad debts lose money from your pocket.

Your financial needs, situation and knowledge play important roles in making the loan bad debt or good debt.

Loans come in many flavours - One of the most talk about, in my opinion, is payday loans. Why is that?

Faxless payday loan - offering you financial solution, fast - a bit too fast to handle

Payday loan is a small amount, short-term loan that is intended to cover borrower’s financial need until his/her next paycheck received.

With the advent of the Internet, payday loans are becoming more and more accessible. The term “faxless payday loan” refers to payday loan which application is processed online, thanks to the Internet.

While in essence payday loan aims to help people regardless of their credit score, many accuse payday loan as the culprit that drown many people deeper in debt.

Not quite.

In my opinion, people inherit a common weakness. They want more for less, and they want it fast.

People are always looking for fast and instant remedies for their problems, including financial problems. Just like everything in life, such as fast food, instant means immediate gratification first and quality second.

Payday loan offers fast solution. Faxless payday loan even does things faster, due to online application processing and instant approval. The drawback, as always, is the sky-high interest rate.

Those bring interesting relationship: No matter how negative the reputation of payday loan is, it seems that more and more people need payday loan these days, and payday loan providers are thriving these days. Some sort of love-hate relationship between lenders and borrowers.

Reality check: Stop blaming payday loans - have you ever look things from the eye of payday loan providers?

I am appalled to know people are blaming payday loan. Although I’m not offering any payday loans or similar things and not involving in one either, I think there are too much bad apples thrown at lenders, accusing them as scammers.

Have you ever thought that it is borrower’s responsibility to keep him/her-self well-informed regarding what type of loans he/she is about to take? It is borrower’s responsibility to know what question to ask and when to take payday loans.

Many payday loan providers I know are trying hard to offer a solution. They bear huge risks - they lend to borrowers with no regard of their credit scores. That is why payday loans charge huge interest rate: to supplement the high risks of lending to borrowers with bad credit ratings.

The right borrowers do regard payday loans as the life-savers. do help people - the right one and the well-informed one, that is - getting out of debt.

How to use payday loan to your benefit

First thing first - learn everything you can about payday loan. It is your responsibility to learn about payday loan, about the providers, and about what to expect and when.

Always plan everything - You need to know how much will you get from the lenders, the amount of the interest you owe to the lenders, and most importantly, how the short-term loans can help you getting out of debt, and for how long. You can actually ask the payday loan providers to provide you with a calculation on how much would you pay in the end of the loan period.

If the plan looks positive, go for it. If not, run away from it.

One, last advice: Never, ever take any form of loans without the right knowledge about the loans. That only makes payday loan quick sand, not helping hands.

Image by toolfan.hess.

Government Grants to Pay-Off Your Credit Card Debt: Blessings in Disguise

If you are hoping for a miracle in clearing your credit card debts, you will probably wasting your time.

But if you are diligent enough in looking for information in the right places, you might found something that could be very well your small miracle.

One of the small miracles in today’s recession is Federal grants for credit card debt.

What is Federal grants for credit card debt?

In essence, the Federal grants for credit card debt is Government grants that allow you to pay off all your credit card debts, should you meet the criteria and requirements.

The main purposes of this grant are:

• To stop you from drowning deeper into debt by taking new loans to pay off your previously taken loans.
• To help you sustain your credit ratings and reputation.

The best thing of Federal grants is obvious - It doesn’t require to be paid back.

However, there are certain criteria and requirements to be met to be eligible - the first and foremost criteria, you have to be a US citizen, as this grants only apply in the United States.

First of all, you need to know how to apply for one.

How to get Federal grants for credit card debt

In general, the requirements to apply for the grants are as follow:

1. Find the right Government Agencies and seek the information about the Government grants and funding programs - You can find such information from these Government’s sites: CFDA.gov and Grants.gov.
2. Have the needed information ready: proof of income, your loan monthly payments information, and your total amount of loan taken.
3. Along with the information the Government Agencies gather about your financial status, your application is then assessed to determine whether you qualify or not.
4. You will be informed regarding your eligibility, and if you are judged to be eligible, your debt will be cleared as the Government pays off the debt on your behalf.

Beware of scams

Just like anything that involves money, there are some organisations and companies that claim to help you getting the grant you’ve always wanted. They are too smart to know that, these days, people are often acting irrationally to get out of debt as soon as possible, by any means.

You homework is to keep your head cool and rational, while focusing your effort to find the right information. Again, the good places to start are these Government’s sites: CFDA.gov and Grants.gov.

Hopefully this post will help you with an opportunity to have a fresh start and build your personal finance the right way.

Image by Kevin Krejci.

New Year, New Hope: Plan Your Finance to Yield the Best Return

Forget what some people said about how bleak the year 2009 is. The truth is, all we need right now is financial planning.

The premise - plan your finance well, and it will deliver you from financial woes that hit many who unprepared in 2007 and 2008.

The significance of financial planning in 2009

Financial planning has always been important.

Unfortunately, not all people believe the fact, until they were hit by financial problems. ‘Thanks’ to recession, the financial problems are magnified - due to the recession, financial planning has never been this important in the history of the mankind!

Particularly in 2009, financial planning is probably your most important task to do, either for your business finances or personal finances.

Creating a form of safety net or save haven for your money and finance will not only help you survive the recession, but also triumph over it.

Even better, you need to find a way to utilise all financial knowledge and tools you have to yield the best return for every penny or cent you have.

Here’s several plan ‘items’ you should consider thinking about.

Plan #1: Saving and deposit account - forget about it! Says hello to precious metals

As we know, banking and financial institutions are one of the hardest hit in today’s recession. In the US, the Fed squeezes record-amount of fund to keep those institutions afloat. Why? One of their fear: People rush to close their accounts.

However, in my opinion, that’s what you suppose to do - forget your saving and deposit account.

I’m not suggesting you to close your saving and deposit accounts - they are important parts in diversification. What I’m suggesting you is NOT to put too much money in them.

With the rising inflation in every part of the world, your saving and deposit accounts interest rates are becoming more and more insignificant.

You need to get back to what all the money in the world should base upon - gold and the other precious metals. Although the price of the metals are sky high, they are one of the safest investment forms today.

Plan #2: Utilise your credit cards better

Unlike most financial planners suggest, I suggest you not to cut your credit cards.

Instead, I recommend you to consolidate your credit cards - transfer your existing credit cards to lower APR ones or to credit card issuers that offer the most perks and rewards.

How to know which ones you should transfer balance to or apply for, invest some time to browse the Net for reviews and recommendations on credit cards issuer. Credit card sites, such as CreditCardFlyers.com, offer alternatives you can consider, including which credit cards are good for what purposes.

My favourite credit cards story is that of my colleague’s - he shop for his business needs with his business credit cards. With tens of thousands dollar month after month business spending made on his credit cards, he is enabled to vacationing regularly and staying in luxury hotels, courtesy of his business credit card issuers - a win-win situation for credit card issuers and holders.

Plan #3: Cut bad debts, utilise good debts

When I say ‘utilise your credit card better’ in plan #2 above, I think credit cards as your ‘bridging’ in your financial planning. That being said, avoid using credit cards for loan purposes, as the interest rates are high.

Instead, cut any debts related to credit cards. In fact, cut any debts that are aimed to people with low credit scores, such as payday loan. Not that payday loan is not useful - it does in certain circumstances - but you should consider a lower interest loans that brings positive cash flow to your pocket.

Happy holiday and happy planning!

You need a break somehow, and be prepared for the coming 2009. Remember the butterfly effect I mentioned in my previous articles - what you do and think about your finances will affect your community - being positive is contagious, and it will eventually end the recession somehow.

I wish you have a happy holiday and happy planning!

Image by Zach Alexander.

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